How do shells get into rocks?
We expect to find shells on the seashore because the shellfish who make them live in the ocean. These shellfish are stodgy stay at homes who never leave the water if they can help it; n0 wonder we are surprised to find their shells in rocks on land hundreds of miles from the sea. This very same question was asked by one of the world’s greatest artists who happened also to be one of the world’s greatest brains. He was Leonardo Da Vinci of Italy. He lived and created his master works 400 years ago. He painted pictures, earved statues and planned buildings and canals. When an ancient outdoor theater needed repairs, Leonardo was asked to direct the work. And some of the building stones used to make the benches were embedded with graceful seashells. Leonardo collected samples and studied the shells in the rocks. He decided that the shells were very old. He thought they were the fossil remains of ancient shellfish, and he was correct. We know now that rocks embedded with shells were formed u
